How Accurate Is It To Say That The Status Of Black People In The US Changed Very Little In The Years 1945 1955?

   Even in the Northern states racism was commonplace, despite not being law it was de Facto which is arguably worse. As in the South black people knew where they stood in the eyes of white citizens and the rules they had to follow, whereas Northern black citizens just accepted segregation as a fact of life that they would have to adhere to such as by stepping off the pavement and not looking if white women were to walk past. Even when the discrimination was not legal it still existed and initially showed little signs of any change over these years, as this was not a matter of changing legislation this requires a change of attitude from the people that could not be forced upon them. Nevertheless as groups such as the NAACP began to press his cause winning Supreme Court cases, e.g. Morgan vs Virginia and Sweatt vs Painter, leading to De jure changes De facto segregation still stood in place. Although laws changed, people's opinions wouldn’t be that easy to change.

   Although after the during the Second World War black soldiers first experienced segregation across Europe and even though it still existed they saw the stark contrast in lifestyles they had to their own. Resulting in a rise of black consciousness across America as they not only began to question the segregation they were faced with, but saw what they could achieve when they stood together for a cause. In addition to this, Northern white liberals also became increasingly aware of the conditions black people as they know lived closer to them in the Northern states. Leading to an increase in the spread of ideas between these communities making them realise change had to be made and this change started with the President.

   Truman showed his stance of segregation before he was even in office, as at his inauguration ceremony he allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other in the audience which was unprecedented for this time. This attitude continued in 1947, after he had established a committee to investigate race relations and to safeguard the rights of minorities leading to the publishing of a report called ‘To Secure These Rights’. It called for many drastic changes to be made to the law e.g. to secure black voting rights, to pass anti-lynching legislation and to end a range of segregated facilities. Despite limited action being taken in the areas identified as a result of the report; this did put Civil Rights on the political agenda arguably for the first time in American history. Truman also remarkably appointed many black staff members during his term in office notably Ralph Bunche who was appointed American Ambassador to the United Nations. He mediated between Israelis and Palestine’s and thus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, fourteen years before Martin Luther King did. Finally, as part of his Fair Deal programme he committed the government to building houses in deprived urban areas in order to address some of the economic problems faced by African Americans. The Fair Deal housing programme demolished badly constructed houses but fewer houses were built than was anticipated; thus reducing the amount of housing actually available worsening the issue.

   Truman also made an Executive Order segregated the army and guarantying equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, colour, religion or national origin. Allowing 1.2 million black men to join the United States army during WWII. Northern blacks were also often trained in the south and this was their first experience of de Jure segregation, opening their eyes to the severity of the issue

   In conclusion, despite their initially appearing to have been little change made during this decade it can be seen that change was on the agenda with the ‘Fair Deal’ program attempting to improve black housing, desegregation of the army and black people now holding government positions. However, these changes still only addressed the issue of de Jure segregation changing Southern legislation leaving the Northern problem of changing attitudes and perceptions with little to no change made.